Georgia QB Dexter Williams commits to IU

An already successful recruiting day for Indiana only got better on Sunday evening when Georgia quarterback Dexter Williams announced his commitment to the Hoosiers via Twitter.

Williams, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Macon, Ga., becomes the eighth commitment in the 2020 class for IU, joining wide receiver/defensive back Lemuel Neely-Watley, who committed late Sunday morning.

Other offers for Williams, who is currently unranked by Rivals.com or in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, include Army, Navy, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy, Tulane and Wofford. Williams is ranked as the No. 40 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by 247Sports.com.

His commitment comes just hours after another IU quarterback target, Hunter Dekkers of Sioux Falls, Iowa, committed to Iowa State and one week after Williams made an unofficial visit to Bloomington. He first received an Indiana offer in late May.

As a junior last fall, Williams threw for 1,023 yards and ran for 1,544 yards, combining for 31 total touchdowns.

Dexter Williams is an excellent athlete along with being a good QB. He looks like the kind of athlete that IU will improve by him coming here. Watley committed just before Williams and will play at DB for IU. IU also had a 4 star WR visit this weekend who had a great visit and wants to come back again before choosing a school this Fall.

The 2020 class is coming along nicely but we need to add some OL men. With the very good visits by recruits that chose a different school could end up with a couple flipped to IU just like Sampson last season.

Recruiting is not going very well. Rivals currently has IU as the 62nd ranked class nationally and by far the lowest in the big 10 when rated by stars. Winning 4 conference games in 2 years has an impact.

A highly ranked QB was going to be tough since IU already has 3 potential starters. But Bear Down’s points are well founded. Year 3 is usually a make or break year for any coach and TA will be no different. 5 wins or less again and recruiting will dry up. You can only preach breakthrough for so long before you have to do it. Maryland’s hiring of Locksley is already paying dividends as his first class is ranked almost 30 spots above IU.

Yes but Locksley personally, organizationally and professionally is a train wreck when put in charge of a program. He is a good recruiter and equally adept OC but the culture he built at New Mexico was toxic and left fans cold. Maybe Maryland has built in some firewalls to hold him in check. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near a program I follow.

Not trying to be a downer but, if you judge recruits by who else is pursuing them, IU is coming up short. Every player looks like an excellent athlete in highlight tapes, but coaches who evaluate them offer the kids who they believe can make a difference. There were plenty of supposed football experts who said Austin King and Joe Tronti were Big 10 players who were difference makers, and neither had the skills to get on the field. Right now, those kids are committing elsewhere, and the 4-14 Big 10 record has to be one of the reasons why.

Yes, IU has 3 qbs with potential. 2 unproven and 1 proven with pretty limited ability. This qb fits right in though I suspect another position may be a possibility.
Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota are recruiting solid for 2020.

I actually see a very interesting strategy being pursued by TA which I have seen before. Whether or not TA can be as successful remains to be seen, but it has been done before. It will depend largely on how well they can coach up the under the radar talent being assembled. The bigger question is can they get the kids signed before they get on the more successful schools radar. TA is using the strong ties to the south to pull in this type talent and if successful, he will be following a proven methodology. I find it interesting they are also using the same strategy recruiting in the north such as the Michigan area.

Don’t be fooled by the lack of major school interest in these kids, it all depends on whether or not TA is on the right track and can make it work. However, there is no way we will know until they hit the field. Reason I am watching this with interest is I remember a team full of no name kids just like this from out in south MS come into Tallahassee and hand Bobby Bowden the worst beat down of his career. FSU had a good team that year, but they got hammered that day.

Not saying TA is going to be able to do what we have seen several second tier schools in the south do in the same manner at IU, but it could work. Again, the question remains, the strategy is proven, but can TA actually do it at IU. Won’t know the answer until they play the games.

Mississippi State was coached by Curley Hallman, who still holds the highest winning percentage at USM. They also had Brett Favre as their QB. They were coming off a 10-2 season from the previous year, and beat FSU in the opener 31-26.

Whether USM played over their heads, or FSU took them too lightly, USM won but I wouldn’t say FSU got hammered.

SOSD,
You don’t know your football history too well. Not talking about the Farve years, but a few years earlier when a USM team came into Tallahasse with a QB named Reggie Collier and a RB named Sammy Winder and walked away with a 58-14 win. Wasn’t one of Bowden’s better W/L years, had a very tough schedule, but they were 6-3 coming into the game with one of those wins over #7 OSU at Columbus. That same USM team also managed to tie at Alabama. The coach wasn’t Curley Hallman, but rather Jim Carmondy who a few years later recruited Farve to the school, but Hallman ended up coaching Farve after Carmondy left. Interestingly enough the next year after the FSU win, USM beat Alabama at Tuscaloosa to hand the Bear his last loss.

You never know about players until they hit the field and it is no different at IU. Are the players we are pulling in going to shine when they get on the field? IU has to hit on players other schools miss on. Stevie Scott didn’t have a great offer sheet but showed he can play in the B1G. IU has been missing on what I call the “it” factor, plays that are special and win games. IU has been bland the past few years and I hope the changes in coordinators changes that. The concern I have is does IU have the difference makers on the team. There are several that have the potential to be the difference makers. thinkaboutit has a point about the strategy in recruiting and we will have to see if it is a winning strategy.

Fans get too wrapped in rankings of classes early in the process. The recruiting sites go by total score but the average score is a more telling way to rate teams. All of the rankings don’t really mean much until after signing day as players will flip schools like Sampson did to IU last year. IU have brought in commits later than other schools so the concern right now is warranted but not really a concern. Having a winning season will definitely help recruiting and 2019 results will make a difference.

“The recruiting sites go by total score but the average score is a more telling way to rate teams.” IU is ranked last in the Big Ten for average score. TA really needs to get to .500 or better this year. Big Ten not very forgiving to a HC needing on the job training.

I am not qualified to judge whether either of these two or ay recruit for that matter have enough talent to compete at this level. What I can determine is that Allen, and apparently several coaches/staffs of other programs believe they are. Regardless of ranking they have decided to attend IU and continue their football careers as Hoosiers.

Will our 2020 class be as strong as Alabama’s or Clemsons? As strong as OSU’s, UM’s or PSU’s? Probably not, but if you expected that you’re not being a realist.

Right now IU is just trying to reach the .500 level, a level they’ve been trying to achieve forever. My only hope is that the players recruited the last several years will be able to get us to that level. That is the building block for most programs that have been historically bad. Achieve a winning season in 2019, go bowling, and continue to build from there.

I agree with v and tai as to a trend Coach Allen has fashioned in IUFB recruiting. I personally don’t think you can have to many QB recruits on your roster depending on the HS programs they lead. From the highest profile position at the LOS they’ve been repeatedly tested by fire. They can be developed, groomed as their bodies physically transition to excel at so many positions. Many have been outstanding D performers at 9 of the 11 positions and as kick returners. I like this kid.

looks like a good recruit, maybe has the potential to be a good or great linebacker or hybird safety. Needs to increase his speed and football instinct. But agree Dexter Williams has a lot of potential (upside). Welcome to Indiana University football Dexter.

I have no problem with this recruit, but I doubt he’ll ever take a snap as IU’s starting QB. My guess is that he’ll be transitioned to a wide receiver or defensive back.

But I find it interesting to note that people who comment on facts involving IU’s recruiting are labeled “negative” or pessimistic. While TA has improved recruiting significantly, until he produces a winning season, improving the ranking of his recruiting classes is a secondary accomplishment. And I agree with Bear Down and others, a head coach has a limited number of years to produce a winning season before his slogans fall on deaf ears. If he does not post a signature win or produce a winning record this season, his ability to continue to improve recruiting will become increasingly difficult. Other new coaches, like the new man at Maryland and our rivals at Purdue and Minnesota are producing higher rated recruiting classes than IU.

Po,
I don’t disagree with you, BD and others, that TA is on a limited time schedule. However, we all have to remember that building a FB program at IU is a significantly steeper hill to climb than any other place in the country. TA is taking on the challenge of the worst D1 FB program in history, and that’s not an easy challenge. No excuses, he still has to produce at some point and this year will be crucial. The one thing standing in TA’s way is a very difficult B1G schedule for IUFB.

For IUFB to have a chance of a winning season, it will start with a dynamic offense. New OC in position with new ideas, the biggest question is, “Will there be a B1G caliber QB at the controls.” Thus far in the TA tenure that has not yet been the case. Will we see one this year? I don’t have a problem with PR if he can up his game to a B1G level, but if he can’t, is the staff ready to make a change? Are Penix and Tuttle the real deal or has it all been hype?

Think- I doubt players care about the history of IU past the last decade let alone the last century. TA took over back-to-back bowl teams and had the most returning starters in the Big Ten- that is a far cry from “a steeper hill to climb than any other place in the country.” Clearly winning at Kansas or Rutgers or even Maryland is significantly harder than winning at IU.

It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world! And just like HS BB players could care less about IU’s ancient history in basketball, most HS Football players have no idea and even less interest in IU’s ancient history in football. They want to know what kind of opportunity and experience they’ll have if they play for IU. The coaching staff, the conference (i.e. exposure), fan support/excitement and the facilities have a lot more to do with football recruiting than a school’s history.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say that a lot of HS football players are aware that IU has the worst history in college football. What will it take for IU to overcome that history and begin producing top 25 ranked recruiting classes and winning seasons? What’s the formula for changing the future of IU Football? Here’s a hint: it ain’t continuing to do what’s been done over and over again for the last 50 years!

Honestly, the “worst history in college football” argument is a lame and tired excuse that IU Administrators have been hiding behind for decades. It serves to shield them from their gross incompetence. I don’t care what a school’s history is, it’s a matter of money and leadership, and IU’s Administration hasn’t cared enough about Football to provide enough of either. Maybe, just maybe, TA will change that. But I don’t care how much improved his recruiting classes have been, if he can’t produce a winning season before the end of 2020, he’s going to start sliding backwards, and the quality (ranking) of future recruiting classes will be the “canary in the coal mine.” That pattern is also a part of IU Football’s history.

On the other hand, if TA can produce a six win season in 2019, which would involve beating at least one very good Big Ten team, the next two recruiting classes should be even better than his first three classes. Relinquishing the DC responsibilities and hiring a new OC was a good start. Now let’s see if IU’s O-line coach can improve the quality of the big guys up front.